Influence of phenols and furans released during thermal pretreatment of olive mill solid waste on its anaerobic digestion.

The application of thermal pretreatments to facilitate its anaerobic digestion has associated phenols and furans production, which are commonly identified as inhibitory compounds. Phenols and furans extraction can be done from a liquid phase produced after the thermal pretreatment. In the present study this dephenolized liquid phase (DLP) showed an increase of 42% in methane yield compared to the raw liquid phase (LP) demonstrating the inhibitor character of such compounds. The main extracted phenols and furans were: 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylglycol (DHPG), Hydroxytyrosol (HT), Tyrosol (Ty), Vanillic acid (AcV), Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), Vanillin (V) and Furfural (F).This study also aimed to evaluate the individual effect on methane production of these specific phenols and furans the within the mixture of several ones from LP. The evaluation of the individual compounds over the methanogenesis of a dephenolized liquid phase showed that only V was inhibitory on both methane yield and methane production rate. HMF had a significantly negative effect on methane yield, but improved the methane production rate instead. Ty, F, DHPG and HT favoured the methane yield and production rate. Additionally, it was observed that negative effect of some individual phenols and furans was counteracted by the positive effect of other compounds.

Anti-Inflammatory Local Effect of Hydroxytyrosol Combined with Pectin-Alginate and Olive Oil on Trinitrobenzene Sulfonic Acid-Induced Colitis in Wistar Rats.

Purpose: Evaluate the efficacy of hydroxytyrosol in the local treatment of inflammatory colitis. Currently, the existing treatments for inflammatory bowel diseases does not cure the disease and it is associated with high rates of side effects and complications. Hydroxytyrosol is a phenyl-ethyl-alcohol derived from the hydrolysis of oleuropein and present in olive oil, previous studies have demonstrated the anti-inflammatory effect of dietary hydroxytyrosol supplement, with no toxicity. Materials & Methods: Colitis has been induced by using Trinitrobenzene Sulfonic Acid at 40 rats. They were divided into four groups randomly: 10 rats without treatment; 10 rats with pectin/alginate mixture; 10 rats treated with pectin/alginate + olive oil; 10 rats treated with pectin/alginate + olive oil + hydroxytyrosol. Animals were sacrificed 10 days after induction of trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid, receiving 5 days of continuous treatment. Samples of the rectal area were studied and observed under a microscope to determine the damage by Hunter scoring modified, assessing inflammatory infiltration, number of intestinal walls involved, damage to the mucosal architecture, and edema. Results: When the rectum was analyzed in a global way, nonsignificant differences were observed; however, when performing an individualized analysis, statistically significant differences in the inflammatory infiltrate are present in the samples, which were evaluated using the ANOVA and Student-T statistics. Conclusions: Local treatment with the natural antioxidant hydroxytyrosol combined with pectin/alginate and olive oil of inflammatory bowel disease has been shown to be effective against inflammatory infiltration of TNBS-induced colitis.

Characterization of asparagus lignin by HPLC.

Lignin is the cell wall component most frequently associated with hardening. Its characterization and quantification are very important to understand the biochemical modifications related to the changes in texture of vegetables such as asparagus (Asparagus officinalis), in which this organoleptic attribute is a very important quality factor. In this study, asparagus lignin from the basal sections of fresh and stored spears was analyzed using 2 methods, the traditional (Klason lignin) and the recently developed derivatization, followed by reductive cleavage (DFRC) method. The latter is a simple and reproducible technique for lignin characterization based on a degradation procedure that produces analyzable monomers and dimers by cleaving alpha- and beta-aryl ethers in lignins. The primary monomers derived from DFRC degradation of lignins are essentially p-coumaryl peracetate, coniferyl peracetate, and sinapyl peracetate. To evaluate the efficiency of the DFRC method, our investigations have been carried on distinct sample types, including wood (data not shown), straw, and asparagus samples. The results have confirmed that lignin composition is affected by plant nature. It has been found that whereas wood samples mostly contain coniferyl units, plant foods, such as straw and asparagus, contain both coniferyl and guaiacyl units.

Flavonoid profile of green asparagus genotypes.

The determination of flavonoid profiles from different genotypes of triguero asparagus and their comparison to those from green asparagus commercial hybrids was the main goal of this study. The samples consisted of 32 commercial hybrids and 65 genotypes from the Huetor-Tajar population variety (triguero). The analysis of individual flavonoids by HPLC-DAD-MS has allowed the determination of eight naturally occurring flavonol derivatives in several genotypes of triguero asparagus. Those compounds included mono-, di-, and triglycosides of three flavonols, that is, quercetin, isorhamnetin, and kaempferol. The detailed analysis of the flavonoid profiles revealed significant differences among the distinct genotypes. These have been classified in three distinct groups as the result of a k-means clustering analysis, two of them containing both commercial hybrids and triguero asparagus and another cluster constituted by 21 genotypes of triguero asparagus, which contain several key flavonol derivatives able to differentiate them. Hence, the triglycosides tentatively identified as quercetin-3-rhamnosyl-rutinoside, isorhamnetin-3-rhamnosyl-rutinoside, and isorhamnetin-3-O-glucoside have been detected only in the genotypes grouped in the above-mentioned cluster. On the other hand, the compound tentatively identified as isorhamnetin-3-glucosyl-rutinoside was present in most genotypes of triguero asparagus, whereas it has not been detected in any of the commercial hybrids.

Consideraciones actuales del tratamiento estomatológico en niños con discapacidad mental leve

La discapacidad o retraso mental es una alteración que se presenta con cierta frecuencia en la población infantil. Estos niños presentan características específicas que influyen en sus problemas de salud bucal y en su tratamiento. Se realizó una revisión bibliográfica extensa con el objetivo deampliar los conocimientos técnicos en torno a esta problemática. Las afecciones bucales en ellos son las mismas que afectan al resto de la población, pero generalmente tienen mayor prevalencia y severidad; por esta razón es necesario el tratamiento integral, con marcado énfasis preventivo y un alto sentido humano donde participen padres y educadores orientados por el equipo de salud.(AU)